Comical Conures

Greetings bird lovers! This month’s profile is on one of the cutest birds of all, the Conure. These birds continue to become increasingly popular, especially for people who want to go from owning a smaller bird to something larger and different. Conures come in a variety of colors and sizes. The largest of the species, the Patagonian conure measures 18 inches in length. The smallest of the species, the orange-fronted, measures 9 inches in length, making it a little smaller than a cockatiel. The most popular types of conures kept as pets include the Patagonian, the jenday, the sun, the golden-capped, the peach-fronted, the green-cheeked, the dusky, the blue-crowned, the slender-billed, the white-eyed, the red-masked, the maroon-bellied, the green, the mitred, the Fishers, and the nanday (I think that pretty much covers them all).

One type in particular has gained recent notoriety as a star of the big screen, the blue-crowned conure, who appeared as Paulie. This bird averages about 15 inches, is mainly green with a soft blue head. Blue crowns make wonderful pets and if hand reared are extremely tame, and train and talk quite easily. The Dusky-headed conure is also among the most popular, they are mostly dark green and have grayish colored heads. They average about 11 inches and are known for their gentle and sweet dispositions. The sun conure is often regarded as the most beautifully colored of the conures. When mature, they are mainly golden with bright red-orange coloring and some green and dark blue. Young sun conures make excellent pets and can learn to talk. The jenday (see photo at right) is very similar in appearance and characteristic to the sun and golden-capped conures, they average about 12 inches. The 10 inch maroon-bellied conure is mostly green with bronze barring on the chest, they are known as a quiet conure, who will also learn to talk.

Conures are found in their native habitat ranging from Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands. The United States no longer imports wild-caught conures. All conures available today are domestically bred birds. Although conures can be loud at times, they offer a lot of love and affection to their owners. The housing requirements for the smaller of the conures would be something similar to a cockatiel. For the larger conures, bigger cages are best. Remember to always buy the biggest cage you can afford, but be sure the spacing is not to far apart. Your bird should not be able to get its head through the bars. Conures love to come out of their cages and play, so a play-gym would be most welcomed. Toys are a must, they love bird bells, plastic chains, swings, wooden chew toys, etc. A bored bird can easily become a frustrated feather plucker, a hard habit to reverse. A good diet for the conure would consist of pellets, very little seed, fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh water should be readily available and changed several times during the day.

If you think the conure is the type of bird you might like more information on please contact me at 561-743-5616. We have several conure breeders out here in Jupiter Farms who would be able to give you lots more information. Thanks for reading. Coming next month—- the macaws!